Duggan: Human touch is a big part of mountain strong

Oct. 31, 2013

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The Front Range has seen more than its fair share of natural disasters in the past couple of years. We’ve seen fires and floods of nearly biblical proportions.

A standard line among mountain-area dwellers who have survived both is something like, “We’re expecting a swarm of locust any day.”

A little dark humor helps survivors deal with the stress. And it also helps to know that other people care about them and the circumstances they are in.

Recovery from last month’s flooding is still a long, long way off for many of our neighbors. I’m reminded of this every day through the news stories, press releases and social media postings that flow like a river through my computer.

A week ago, I was back in the Estes Park area for the second time since the flood. The primary purpose of the trip was to see flood-damaged county roads and what was being done to bring them back online.

I knew what was coming but still wound up feeling a bit stunned by what I saw. All the images from the flooding and its aftermath — the photos, videos and maps — give one a pretty good idea of what happened, but seeing the destruction firsthand delivers a sense of scale that no photo can quite capture.

It really brings home the reality of the situation in places such as Estes Park, Glen Haven and the upper Big Thompson Canyon.

The tour covered mile after mile of torn-up pavement and the remnants of washed-away buildings. Crews using heavy equipment were moving tons of dirt and other materials to temporarily patch gaps in the roads to make them passable.

Estes Park was fairly busy with traffic and people going about their business. It was a glorious fall day with the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park glittering in the background.

I noticed many residents wore blue sweatshirts emblazoned with the motto “Mountain Strong” in a display of determination.

Glen Haven was eerily quiet, save for the sound of the creeks still running high and distant chainsaws. Few people were around, except at the headquarters of the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department.

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A few firefighters and other residents were waiting for the arrival of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who was expected but running late. They talked quietly and calmly about the challenges they face, including the uncertainty about whether they will be able to rebuild their homes and businesses.

Bennet and a small entourage rolled up. After handshakes all around and some discussion about where they were going, the dignitaries and a few of the locals roared off in a variety of 4-wheel-drive vehicles to survey the damage to private roads. Bennet drove by himself on a borrowed ATV.

The cynical side of me privately questioned the usefulness of a U.S. senator paying a visit. I know many elected and appointed officials, including the governor and the Larimer County commissioners, have made a point of showing up at hard-hit areas.

And then it occurred to me that perhaps visits by officialdom do matter. The officials get the above-mentioned sense of scale and the residents can see that people in authority really are aware of what has happened.

It’s the human touch coming into play, just as it did when emergency responders and volunteers showed up to assist residents deal with the immediate flood problems seven weeks ago.

It’s people shaking hands and looking each other in the eye and talking about what needs to be done.

In the coming months and years, a lot of money is going to be poured into flood-damaged areas. Heavy equipment will be used to make things right with the ravaged infrastructure.

But the human touch may be the most critical part of helping the people who live in these areas recover and stay mountain strong.

Kevin Duggan is a senior reporter. Contact him at (970) 224-7744 or KevinDuggan@coloradoan.com. Follow him at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan on Facebook or @coloradoan_dugg on Twitter.